South Korea: Plans to scrap real-name system

South Korea‘s government will go ahead with plans to scrap the current real-name system for internet users in the wake of the country’s worst online security breach. Last month, personal information including names, mobile phone numbers and email addresses of about 35 million users of the country’s popular internet and social media sites Nate and Cyworld was stolen in a hacking attack. The real-name system, introduced in 2007, requires people to use their real names and resident registration numbers when making online postings on websites with more than 100,000 visitors per day.

South Koreans sue Japanese newspaper

A group of South Korean citizens have filed a lawsuit against a  Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun, for what they claimed to be a misreport. A total of 1,886 people Thursday filed a suit against the paper for a report in July last year for misquoting President Lee Myung-bak. In the suit, they asked the daily to pay 4.11 million won in compensation and print a correction. Read more here

South Korean Blogger found not guilty

A financial blogger, Park Dae-sung, known online as Minerva, accused of spreading false information on the internet has walked free from court in South Korea. The “innocent” verdict is being seen as a victory for freedom of speech. Read more here